Halloween, graduation, birthday and other fun stuff

What a handsome soldier, don't you think.  It is weird to see Mr. Happy looking so somber, but there you have it!



Seeing the sights at Ft. Benning.  Jim said that DJ automatically went to the "at ease" postion any time they were standing still.  Too funny!




playing in the leaves with apple juice for sustenance




Happy birthday number 12!!  He is now a deacon and is happy to have particpated in his last Primary program!! (which was the week before his birthday)




He actually asked for those books - we will have a reader after all!!




Mason was chowing down on the birthday cake like crazy, it was so funny, he's never done that before.




pumpkin carving time!!




A lizard and three power puff girls at trunk or treat!!





looking at the "fishies" is his favorite thing to do

 In other news, we finally got our basement back - YEAH!!!!  Preston was not sad to give up the couch, but we are keeping the fish tank upstairs because Mason has so much fun just staring at it.  We are so excited for DJ to come home on December 3rd, though that means he can't camp out on Black Friday at Best Buy.  sigh. . .   Karly will have to do it.  It actually snowed here the other day, though it didn't stick thank heaven.  How long before we can move to somewhere warm??????  Soon???   

Happy Shriners'!!

Yesterday Jim and I took baby Mason to Shriners' to begin his orthopedic care there.  It was a great visit.  Traffic and construction made me 45 minutes late so I was totally stressed by the time I got there.  I think Jim has recovered from me screaming at him on the phone that I didn't know where the #@% I was after construction had sent me on yet another detour.  Oh well, he understood.  So, the doctor said that Mason is improving so very much on his own that further interventions are questionable at best.  It was really fun running up and down the hall with a diaper-clad Mason to show off his abilities to the doctor.  We decided in the end with a device that will keep his left foot from flexing so that he is required to utilize the bend in his knee more.  That's it.  No surgery or casting!!  He will never have a compete range of motion in his knee, but the doc said that the structure of his knee probably makes that impossible, and that all the extreme interventions like surgery will have negligible results.  I don't have to put those awful orthotics on him ever again!!  Good-bye leg brace!!  Shriners' is such a cool place - so kid-friendly, and organized, I'm so glad I heard about them. 

Jim went and watched our big boy graduate from basic training.  It was really cool, and DJ is so happy to be done with it, though he actually really liked it.  (Who likes basic training????)  He's now at Ft. Leonard Wood until December, he can call and Skype now so we can talk to him every day.  He is definitely on the path to adulthood, he bought his very own laptop the other day! 
We have been following the story of the miners' in Chile and I watched highlights of the men as they emerged from the rescue pod.  How cool was that??  One guy quietly knelt down in prayer after he emerged, there with millions watching he gave thanks.  What an amazing example of gratitude!  You would have to have a heart of stone to not be a mess as these guys emerged to their families, with their kids and wives crying and hugging them.  Gosh, it was cool.  Preston finished his season of football, and Jim has proclaimed that we have another softie who can't hit hard in a tackle.  I can't help it if we raise sensitive sweetie boys!!  Jim still has hope that Preston will get in touch with his inner beast, time will tell!!  I guess there is always interpretive dance. . . . . . .             

Time surely flies!

There really is never a boring moment around here - well, during the day when it's really quiet maybe sometimes.  Nevertheless, we have had a few momentous happenings lately.  Last week I went downstairs to get a toy for Mason and stepped ankle deep into soggy carpet.  It was everywhere!  The rain that had poured non-stop for the previous week had overwhelmed our sump pump and unbeknownst to us, the motor had burned out.  As a result water was pouring into our basement through the pump for a few hours before we realized.  It's a good thing Mason wanted to play with the choo-choo that was downstairs!  We knew it was beyond our capabilitie to manage so Jim called a Flood Restoration company and they came to our rescue.  We also called a plumber.  The Flood guys came and were in our house until 4 am pumping out water and pulling up the carpet to try and dry it out with big fans.  The basement looked very interesting with all the big humps of carpet with huge industrial fans underneath them blowing them dry. The water hadn't been there long enough to ruin anything but the carpet and most of the baseboards, it hadn't started seeping into the drywall yet - yeah!  (I think).  Our insurance has a sump pump rider.  Heave a big sigh of relief here.  Jim ascertained this at approximately 2 am on the morning of the flood when he was checking over our policy to see if we were covered.  A silent prayer of gratitude went forth for the little rider that will cover this big old mess!!  The plumber came the next morning and installed a new sump pump.  I have learned more about sump pumps the last week then I ever thought I would, or would want to if we're being honest. 
     So, the silly little dance studio that was in one corner of the basement will have all the warped hardwood pulled up and the wall of mirrors removed and we will put carpet there with all the other new carpet being put down.  Now we will have two bedrooms down there - yeah!!  Poor Preston is sleeping on the couch upstairs, showering in Karly's bathroom, brushing his teeth in the kitchen and getting his clothes out of the garage, where all the contents of his bedroom currently reside.  Just two short weeks and we will be good as new.  The Flood guy even brought me a donut today, he has my heart forever. 
     In other news, Mason got accepted for treatment at Shriners' Hospital!!!  The treament there is free and they deal only with orthopedic issues and burns for children under the age of 18.  We are so happy and blessed.  We love Gillette Children's, but even with our deductible, the expenses were substantial.  He has his first appt next week.  I'm so glad a friend of mine told me about Shriners', I researched them and they give top-notch care, the best!!  The application process was simple, and we heard back within a few weeks.  Honestly, after applying to adopt a baby from China, no application or paperwork will ever intimidate me.  Really.  He continues to do so well, his progress is amazing.  Once his knee bends and he has that increased mobility, it will be fun to watch him progress. 
     Mason's transition to daycare has gone well, though he still cries when I drop him off.  I still feel very good about that decision, though the requisite guilt is still lingering.  He has learned to do so much more by himself, as Marilyn (the daycare provider) pointed out, I did everything for him.  I didn't really realize it, but I did.  He now is so much more independent, eats so much better, sleeps better, and is more obedient.  Who knew?  I slave away at the computer all day while he is there, and I try not to touch schoolwork after I pick him up.  I am getting more used to my days, though it was certainly a huge adjustment for me.  I still go to bed every night feeling like I've been hit by a truck. How can doing schoolwork make someone so tired???  I still get a little scared each morning that I won't be up to the challenge and the my professors will e-mail me that I am too stupid to be in the program, but so far that hasn't happened.  I drive up to the University about once a week, and enjoy the face-to-face time with other students and the professors.  I hope I make it through this program.  21 months to go!!!
     Jim left today to go to DJ's graduation from basic training.  My heart is aching at not being able to be there.  He also took my camera which is why this post has no pictures!  There was no way I could leave - with a two-year-old and lots of schoolwork it just wasn't possible.  Jim promised to take lots of pictures and to give him lots of hugs from me.  I miss that kid.  I'm glad that he is making grown-up decisions and is becoming an adult, but there sure is a empty spot in the house without him.  After graduation he is off to Ft. Leonard Wood and specialty training until December first.  I can't wait!  He will be home until school starts at Utah State in January.  There will finally be someone to eat all the food that I am used to cooking.  With Jim's diet and everyone's busy schedules, the meals that I cook never get eaten anymore!  I suppose I should be glad that I don't have to cook as much. 
     That is a sum-up of the latest at the Hansens'.  General Conference was great, as was the RS General Broadcast.  I am so grateful for a prophet to give us counsel - we are so blessed!      

Back in the saddle!

What a week we've all had here!  I just have got to give a shout-out to my honey, he has lost a total of 40 lbs in the last couple of months!  Amazing.  Once he made up his mind there was no turning back.  Some very ugly cholesterol numbers, plus my insistence that he live for a few more decades at least, must have helped make up his mind.  I've given him my best years, now he has to stick around for the slow descent into decrepitude.  I'll do the same for him!!  Here is a recent picture of him with the chili-cook-off hat he won at church.  That was a proud moment, he actually made up the recipe and cooked it from scratch.  I also figured out how to make pictures turn the correct way when I load them from the camera.  I amaze myself sometimes.  Is there a cuter 45-yr-old anywhere? 

     OK, speaking of age, I am the oldest by far of anyone in the OT program.  Way.  I'd say the average age is somewhere in the neighborhood of 25, maybe 27.  So, mostly 20 somethings, a few 30's, and . . . .you guessed it.  Me.  Do I admit I also have 5 kids?  Actually I already did, and got the requisite oohs and aahs, but everyone was nice.  I have never actually been the oldest person before.  I don't like it.  So, for you all to judge, does this look like someone that is the oldest person in her class - by far?   I know.  The answer is yes.  Though I do take comfort in the fact that I used to not be old.  Really.    There is also comfort in the thought that this first semester there is a lot of writing to do, we read lots of articles and other stuff, and then write in many different formats.  This is right up my alley, and I also have a lot of life experience to draw from when I have to analyze all this info.  I don't know what these young whippersnappers are writing about, but at least I have a small advantage that way!  I also need a whole bunch of immunizations to be in a health professions program, and my answer to that was when I was a kid we all lined up in the cafeteria from time to time and got shots from a cool little shot gun. . . . with the same needle.  Since that didn't seem to hold water for the admissions people, I had to go to the doctor and be a human pincushion.  Ouch!!  I still have two more visits to be current on my shots.  Who knew?

     My little caboose is still rather ticked off at the whole daycare situation.  It turns out he's used to getting his way all the time, and getting waited on hand and foot.  This doesn't work so well at daycare.  In my defense, here is a picture.  You tell me if you could resist spoiling this little bug rotten.  Right.  Didn't think so.  This is his smile face - we can't get him to do anything else.  He has pretty much resigned himself to being one of the daycare crew, and Marilyn says he is just fine after I leave, though he is still miffed on a daily basis when Marilyn tells him no or to do something himself.  Life is tough little guy, real tough. 

     Our big National Guard boy was attacked by wasps the other day and was sent to the hospital.  It turns out he's allergic!!  A shot of Benadryl and a nap and he was out shooting some gun or other after just a couple of hours.  I think he's getting a lot of mileage out of the story, everyone we talk to seems to have already heard about it.  He got phone privileges on Sunday for a couple of hours, so he was able to really get the word out!  He will be home for Thanksgiving!!!!  Yeah!!!  It was going to be a small group, but just feeding DJ will make it seem more like Thanksgiving. 
     I've got my first full day of classes on-campus tomorrow - eek!  We go up a few times each month for a long day of classes, and the rest is online.  The class time will be fun, it is kind of lonely sitting in front of the computer for 8 hours a day.  So, I am off to gather my stuff, and then hit the rack!!           

School Days!!

Yesterday was the first day of school. . . . . and daycare.  We all had a good first day, Karly said the summer already seems like a distant memory - a long weekend.  Oh for teenage angst . . . . or not.  Preston was just his cool calm self - "school was good mom, I can open my locker like crazy".  I dropped my baby off, he was so unsuspecting and innocent!  I then came home and logged on and began my odyssey.  According to all the syllabuses (6(!) graduate level courses) I will need to devote 90 hours a week to schoolwork.  Ha.  I hate how they give you an average amount of hours to study for each class, when you add up the "minimum amount of time you need to devote to this class" the numbers are obviously wildly exaggerated.  I have created a little corner with all my books and papers and my trusty wonderful laptop, where I will spend all the hours (minus lunch and a few little breaks) that baby is at daycare.  Today when I dropped off little man he knew what was going to happen.  He was going to the house where he had to be obedient and not hit and eat when his food is in front of him, and other unimaginable horrors.  He screamed.  I cried.  Marilyn (the mean lady) picked him up and shooed me out.  She is a dear sister in our ward who has 20 years of daycare under her belt, she spends the whole day with 5 kids, doing preschool and other activities.  I will repeat to myself over and over, "this will be ok, this will be ok."  Marilyn said one week and he'll be an old pro.  When I picked him up yesterday, the wise and seasoned 5-yr-old of the group came up to me and very seriously expressed his reservations at Mason's behavior.  Off-the-charts cuteness factor.  I told him I was grateful to have such a good helper and example - he sighed, knowing the job ahead would be a challenge.  It's all good.   Well, better crack the books!

Wicked!!

This Friday we attended the musical "Wicked" in Minneapolis!!  Jim bought the tickets back in May as a surprise for Karly's birthday.  What a fun night!  We left Mason with a friend of DJ's for the evening (bad idea, more later), and went up with Karly and Preston for a dinner and then the show.  At first Preston was convinced that he was giving up valuable "friend time" to go to a boring play but he ended up loving it.  I have the soundtrack and they have heard it a million times so they knew the music.   Before the play we went out to eat at Applebee's, for us that's the epitome of fine dining!  It actually was the first restaurant that we saw on the long walk between the parking garage of Jim's work and the theater, we were all starving and it looked wonderful.  This winter Shrek and Billy Elliott are both coming to Minneapolis, we are hoping to save our pennies and take the kids to them.  Kasey and I saw Billy Elliott on her school trip to London and it was so good.  Of course since I was in London I probably would have loved staring at a wall, it would have been a London wall of course. 
     Endnote:  18-yr-old babysitter decides to have a little party while he's at our house with baby.  I hear about this at church on Sunday:  So. . . . there was a party at your house, my kid was invited along with many others. . . etc.  It was peaceful, but a mixed crowd,  and so not cool.  But all is now well after a visit with the guilty party.  He won't be babysitting for us again. 

Golden Gopher

I am now officially a Minnesota Golden Gopher.  Jim and I drove up to the campus today and I got my ID card and walked to where my classes will be held.  23 years ago we did the same thing at ISU.  We were newlyweds and I was starting up at this big new intimidating school.  He helped me register, showed me where all my classes were and then took me to the ISU bookstore to buy my books; one of my novels for American lit was entitled (get this!) "Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada".  Jim was convinced that it was a mistake, though it was clearly labeled as a book for that class.  I prevailed and we bought it, and we laughed all semester as I read excerpts of it to him.  We seem to have come full circle.  I love the feel of a college campus - all the students wallking around, and just the atmosphere of a new semester, the anticipation.  The student loans are officially borrowed, so I am in it to win it!  To seal the deal we ate in the student union building.  I about fell over when I saw a Chik-Fil-A there.  I haven't seen any in Minnesota, we have long mourned our Virginia favorite.  I won't tell the kids about it, they will just die until we go there.  Maybe I'll take them to the campus museum and surprise them with Chik for lunch!! 

nefarious nap time

So, Mason is on nap strike.  The last few weeks I lay him down as usual, shut the door and revel in the blessed 2-hr break I am about to receive.  Unfortunately, booger boy has other plans.  So today after about an hour I hear this horrible screaming. I go running in there (well stumbling actually, because I was deep in the midst of an afternoon nap) and this is what I find.  His light was on, a movie was playing on the little VCR TVand he had dropped a toy behind his bed.  He got stuck, and was crying and screaming "STUCK!"  I had forgotten to unplug his TV, he knows how to put a tape in and turn it on.  We put it up high on his dresser as well, but he has figured out how to stack toys and climb up them to reach the TV and put in a tape.  I don't like being outsmarted by a 2-yr-old.  I have finally resorted to laying him down and then leaving his door open and posting myself just outside, reminding him to go back to bed (very sternly) every time he starts climbing out.  He still tries to sneak over and shut the door so I can't hear him and the party can begin.  When I stand guard however, he gives up pretty quickly and is out in about 5 minutes.  Don't be messing with naptime people, that is hands-down the best time of the day, it will go on!!!

       Jim and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary this week!  My how the time does fly.  What a ride it has been, with lots of ups and definitely a few downs, but I wouldn't trade this guy for anything.  He brought me a dozen roses and we went out to lunch at my favorite place - Panera.  Jim even had a salad, what a guy.  I could do another 23 years I think, in fact I can't wait for the next 23 years!! 

more books . . .

Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman

     This is one of my favorite YA books.  I read it many years ago while I was teaching middle school and loved it so much I got a mini-grant from the district to buy a set for our department.  I loved teaching this book, it is such a great story.  The setting is England around 1300 AD.  Catherine is the 13-yr-old daughter of a minor nobleman who owns a manor.  She spends her days helping Cook in the kitchen, scaring off suitors her father finds and learning the arts of herbs and doctoring to prepare her to be the lady of the manor someday.  Catherine is hilarious as she writes the journal that makes up the book.  She is constantly in trouble for not trying to be a proper lady, and her observations of those around her are always dead on.  I loved this book, I learned so much about life in the time period, the roles of those who lived then, and absolutely loved Catherine herself.






Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

      What more can be said about Pride and Prejudice that hasn't been said?  However, this book will always have a very secure place in my heart because of the circumstances surrounding my reading of the book.  I was taking English lit and was pregnant with my first child.  (A girl!!)  Jim was home very little so I was alone a lot.  I remember sitting in our little apartment and reading this book for many evenings.  I was a goner - I loved every syllable.  I had never heard of Jane Austen, and at the time she was for the most part, just required reading for English lit, and not otherwise too widely known.  Not only did I fall in love with the book, but I particularly loved Jane Bennet, she was so sweet, something that I aspired to in my character but never quite seemed to master!  I remember very distinctly the Saturday afternoon that I got to the unexpected letter to Elizabeth from Mr.  Darcy.  I dropped the book - seriously.  Never has a passage taken me by such surprise.  I read the letter over and over, not believing my eyes.  This isn't a spoiler - you all know the story, right!?  Anyway, after one of the best discoveries in lit I'll ever make, I had no choice but to name my daughter after my favorite author and character:  Jane.  This is probably the only time in my life I have been so far ahead of the "cool" curve, I recognized the total wonderfulness of this book and author way before she went mainstream, and my daughter Kasey Jane is proof of that! 

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

     This was the very first purchase I made on my Kindle - the Kindle being the single best present my husband has ever given me.  I love you honey!!  Anyway, it is wonderful!  The setting is the Mississippi at the beginning of the Civil Rights movement.  Most of the main characters are the African American women that served as maids in white households - the help.  We also see this situation from the perspective of a young white girl just back from college who comes home to find the woman who raised her, the maid Constantine, has disappeared.  Out of this frustration and the realizations she has about what life was like for black maids she begins to write a book, telling the stories of the women themselves of what life is like for a maid in the South.  The characters are funny and heart-wrenching and very real.  We learn what it's like to be in Jim Crow South.  A great read.  5 stars for sure.   

books-a-million . . continued

More of some of my favorite all-time books.. . . .with some tossed in that I've read that maybe aren't so great, so hopefully a mixed bag of reviews.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

      The. best. book. ever.  The end.  The guy can turn a phrase like no other author I've ever read.  I love his writing, his descriptions, some of the scenes had me laughing so hard I was crying.  I would try to read some of the funny passages out loud to Jim, but I could never get through them because I couldn't stop laughing.  Lots of other passages were read out loud, just to share the amazing descriptions and characters.  We especially liked the FBI agent, otherwise known as the "putrid fed" in the book.  Funny.  Sweet.  Spiritual.  Sad.  Insightful.  Mostly about the love of a family, and the importance of those ties.   Don't miss it.











The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

     This is a very unique book, mostly in that it is narrated completely by Death.  The narrator simply observes what he is seeing, and comments on his role when the time comes.  In this case he is observing a German family at the outset of WW II.  We follow this family throughout the war, and we are given a picture of what this war was like from a German point of view.  The family consists of the older couple, and the foster child they have taken in, the neighbors on their street, and various people in their town.  It was very interesting to see the war from someone inside Germany, and the different outlooks, depending on which person we are looking at.  The main characters in this book are some of my very favorites in literature, ever.  By the end I hated to close the book and say good-bye to them and to the narrator. 

books-a-million

Since I love to read I want to review some of the books I've read, it will be nice to have a list of the books and my thoughts on each of them.

Gone With the Wind!  My MIL gave this to me for Christmas many years ago.  I had given up reading for pleasure for the most part at this time in my life, as I was working and had little kids, etc.  After a new baby I picked up the book and kept it near me to read while I nursed and rocked my new little guy.  One of the best presents I ever got was this book, bless my MIL's heart.  I started the first chapter and I was utterly hooked from the very beginning.  After all these years this is still one of my very favorites.  The story, the writing, the history, I could go on and on.  The passages of conversation between Rhett and Scarlett are worth the read all by themselves.  The portrait of the South during those years is admittedly told from the point of view of a Southerner, but is a heart-wrenching and descriptive narrative of what those years were like and especially the contrast between the years before and after the war.  I learned so much about the South, and especially after I moved to the South realized that the Civil War is still very much alive and well below the Mason-Dixon line.  Having read Gone With the Wind (and having a degree in history) helped me to understand the history and midset that makes up the South.  Definitely 5 stars - Margaret Mitchell could certainly wield a pen, and craft a sentence, don't miss it.    

Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

    Another Southern lady who could really string some sentences together!  What a great read; funny, sad, wise, it's all there.  She writes of a young boys childhood growing up in the post-war South in a town called Cold Sassy, named after a sassafrass tree.  Young Will lives with his mom and dad, and helps his grandpa out at the family store.  He has adventures and mishaps, and loves spending time with his grandpa, a Civil War veteran.  His observations are hilarious, as are his take on his Grandpa marrying his young new employee after his grandma dies.  Though it has been many years since I read this, I plan on picking it up again someday. 











The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel

   An unexpectedly pregnant young girl finds herself shipped off to Colorado by her minister father and married to a young farmer she has never met.  World War II is raging and near the farm she is sent to there is a camp where Japanese have been interned.  This book is about the Japanese internees as well as the story of the newly wed couple.  The Japanese help out on the neighboring farms, and two young Japanese girls befriend Livy, who is lonely sad and scared in her new life.  A touching book, that paints a clear portrait of what life was like in the internment camps, and also tells Livy's story.  A great read!!

Lazy Summer Days

     Life here at the Hansen household is pretty slow and easy these days.  Karly and Preston are with their friends most of the time, and Mason and I hang out and watch a little Sesame Street.  This morning I took pity on our poor baby that goes and sits in the bike trailer when he wants to go on a ride.  I took him for a long ride to the library and the grocery store and a few other errands.  It was really fun, though tiring, and the little trailer was bursting with groceries on the way home.  I felt bad for Mason squeezed in one corner surrounded by loaves of bread and my gigantic purse.  He took it all in stride, as long as he's riding in the trailer he doesn't care.  Today after naptime I will take him to the lake and hang out there, Mason loves digging in the sand and will even play in the water now.
     I am gearing up for my full-time grad student status in the fall, and have pretty much worked through all my guilt at putting Mason in daycare.  He gets so lonely with me during the days when the kids are at school, and he loves being around other little kids so much.  The daycare only has 5 kids and came very highly recommended, she also has them do some preschool each morning.  Anyway, I am actually kind of excited for him to be around other kids all day.  I am also excited to be around other grown-ups as well.  The 22-month program should fly by without too much hassle for everyone, and I will hopefully be successful!!  With Mason in daycare I can get everything done during the day for school and have the evenings and weekend for family.  Jim is Mr. Supportive, though part of it might be the possibility of mom bringing home a paycheck eventually!!  Long hot summer days are the best though - some of my favorite memories as a kid come from those days - floating down the canal, jumping off the bridge into the river, riding our bikes in to the Shelley swimming pool, all of us sitting downstairs together snapping huge piles of beans that have been poured out onto a blanket.  Every once in while an errant earwig would crawl out of the beans and one of the boys would smash it.  There was chokecherry picking, and camping, going on long drives on Sundays and for me - lots and lots of babysitting of younger siblings.  Hopefully they are not too scarred from the experience.  I hope my kids have lots of fond summer memories to look back on as well!       
 

DJ update!

We have heard from DJ this week, he is still in 'processing', which means he's not doing a whole lot besides, doctor, dentist, paperwork, etc.   He finally went to "real" basic training yesterday, so no more cell phone.  He called me today with his address and pleaded for letters.  The call was short, he said that "Georgia is hot, and he sweats a lot."  Well-spoken my son.  That will be his refrain for several weeks, I'm sure.  We miss this funny kid, but now we have some cute pictures to keep us company.  He went to church on Sunday and he said there were about 200 others servicemen there, all in different stages of basic training.  He said it was really cool to see a sea of green uniforms sitting there for sacrament meeting.  His company has two other members, he was excited about that.  Oh, don't you just love the military issue glasses!  He said his vision has never been better.   

a typical sacrament meeting

So, we have learned through experience (and embarrassment) that we must enter and go immediately to the back row, very back, against the walll back.  That way the space behind us for baby to throw missiles is neutralized.  Mason warms up before the official beginning, running around, doing a few squats and leg lifts, cracking his knuckles, etc.  The opening hymn starts and he starts throwing a fit:  he wants to hold the hymnbook, he wants to tear a page out of the hymnbook, he tears a page out of the hymnbook, despite our best evasive maneuvers, throws it on the ground and stomps on it.  Dad holds him in the "dad-vise" for the remainder of the song while trying desperately to make him be quiet, Mom quietly replaces the page in the hymnbook, hoping that blessings aren't being deleted rapidly.  Opening prayer - Mason folds his arms quietly, he loves prayer-time (who knew).  After that the missiles start flying forward, every toy, book, shoe, food particle, it all becomes a missile aimed at the people in front of us.  Karly's high heel swooshes past the lady's head in front of us, rearranging her hair.  A Lego hits an older gentleman square in the face in the row beside us.  Karly's hair band gets caught in the gentleman's wife's hair as it is careening through the air.  Dad-vise time until the sacrament.  Mason loves the bread tray, he feels it is own little buffet, his bullet-like hand tries to grab a handful, but mom is faster and lets him have only one.  He gulps the water noisily, smacks his lips and says "AAHH" REALLY loud.  The easy part is over.  He crouches over with his head on the floor and runs around that way, leaning way forward with forehead to carpet, occasionally doing a somersault just for variety.   The kids now one by one keep asking when the can take him out.  To settle the weekly argument we have a designated "taker-outer" each week.  We decide whose turn it is each week before we exit the van.  We are trying to make it through the first speaker.  It's DJ.  Mason sees DJ up there at the pulpit and immediately starts yelling for him, "Deeee-Daaay, Deeeee-Daaay."  DJ keeps going for a minute and then finally says "hi Mason."  Everyone is staying in the chapel until the talk is over, that is the rule when a family member is speaking.  Mason sees a toy he wants.  It's not his.  He runs and grabs it from the toddler playing with it.  It's a giant whale.  He starts hitting the other kid with the whale.  Mom does the running crouch, grabs baby, returns the whale, tosses the baby to Preston who then, grinning hugely, exits the chapel.  Game over.  Mason.  He won the battle my friends, but we will win the war. 

a big day

This was one of those days that we look forward to as a parent, and then can't believe that it is here once it arrives.  My big boy was made an elder today by his dad - what a wonderful moment.  The Bishop presented him with the Duty To God award, and then he also had to give a "real" talk in church today, not just a youth talk, and then last but not least. help his dad with a blessing at a home teaching visit.  Welcome to being a grown-up!  After all that he packed his green National Guard backpack (it wasn't even full!) and we dropped him off at the hotel where he will stay until 4:30 am tomorrow where he will be transported to Ft. Benning GA, and start basic training!  My #2 has flown the coop!  I'd be lying if I said my heart wasn't aching.  He was the kid who clung to me and wouldn't go to nursery or class, when he was a toddler.  He was the kindergartener who prayed fervently every morning and night for the new baby to be a boy, because it wouldn't be fair to have more girls.  He got his Preston, and they have been chums ever since.  Preston won't know what to do by himself with the boy kingdom in the basement now.  DJ is (mostly) a ray of sunshine around here and it just won't be the same without him, or his bevy of friends who come in and out at all hours, stopping off at the fridge as they go.  I will miss them too, hopefully they will still stop by, maybe just to see Mason at least.  I can't wait to go to Ft. Benning and see him graduate!  Then it will be off to Missouri for more National Guard training, after that we get him for the whole month of December! 
     In other news, I semi-decorated Mason's room and it turned out so cute if I do say so myself!!  We took out the crib and all the crib decorations and put in a little fire truck toddler bed.  I needed new stuff for the walls so I finally went to the thrift store to see what I could find.  I found a frame and put the Chinese characters in it that are supposed to be Mason's name, at least that's what the guy told us that drew the letters.  He could have been lying and it really says something else, but it's cool anyway.  I'll post pics of the other stuff, it was all less that $40, so not too bad.  We also got rid of the bottle (yes, he's 2 1/2), the bad news is all he wants is his sippy cup.  Does it end??  We held out yesterday and didn't give him his sippy of milk and he finally ate some actual food after his afternoon nap.  The kid is stubborn.  But cute.  I wonder how all this will play out when he goes to day care a few hours a day in the fall.  Having other kids around to play with will be total heaven for him, he gets so excited when there are playmates. 

These are pics of all the cousins at the reunion, I know, random, but I forgot to put them in earlier!

     I guess the quieter days that lie ahead are just an indication of how life will be from now on for us, the kids get older, and the house gets emptier.  Not always a bad thing - but for today, I miss my boy.             

parenting

     This is a gig that I will definitely never master.  Ever.  Some days that is very discouraging.  But then I remember that I am trying.  Each day I am slogging along, hoping that out of this will come well-adjusted self-confident adults that love their Heavenly Father, (and hopefully their mother).  Tall order.  Lots of errors are made.  Lots.  It becomes so easy to lay the problems of life at the feet of parents who were not perfect.  At some point each person becomes the owner of their own life, and the setbacks, the cruelties, and unfair circumstances that we all experience need to become the refiners' fire that make us who we are, and not the ball and chain that keep us from progressing.  We can all point to some insurmountable obstacle that we all faced, and how easy it would have been to just sit at the base of the obstacle, and let that define the rest of our life.  Too often that does happen, and people become embittered, static beings that cannot find peace or happiness.  But when we scale those obstacles; an abusive childhood, an unfaithful spouse, a wayward child, sickness, etc., we emerge a winner, and can continue to progress and rely on the Atonement to keep moving forward.
             So, back to parenting.  How do we get our children to use us as a springboard instead of an obstacle that keeps them from seeing their possibilities?  I don't know.  I only know that I remember so well sitting with my little girl in my lap reading the book 'Are You My Mother' over and over again, until she could recite it by heart to her little brother.  I remember sitting in a rocking chair for many hours of the day and night rocking a feverish and miserable baby while she slept fitfully.  There are the those many moments when you take a minute and watch your child as they sculpt with play-doh or build with blocks or play with dollies, when your heart gives a tug so strong it is physically painful.  It's the same tug you feel when they clamber onto the big yellow bus for the first time, when they master that list of spelling words and when they kick that first soccer goal.  We experience each heartache and disappointment right along with them, and in our imperfect, sometimes stumbling ways we try to comfort, and to help them make sense of all the ups and downs they encounter.  And (let's be honest) we sometimes smile inwardly and even roll our eyes at the drama and heartache that can ensue from the silliest of reasons - cue the wailing and tears, "MOM!  I raised my hand in class and my armpits were SWEATY!!!  Everybody saw!!!"

      My hope is that it will be enough.  That the homemade meals, the family home evenings and family prayers, the endless hours and miles of taxi driving for piano and sports and activities will somehow add up to a happy childhood for them.  I'm hoping that all the heartache and mistakes will be swallowed up by the prayers and tears and laundry and cooking and laughter and good times.  Sometimes the equation doesn't work in our favor.  It just doesn't.  But we keep trying and hope that our kids realize that despite our imperfections (there are many!) that we are doing our best and hope our kids know all we want is for them to reach their greatest potential as human beings!!
    
     
  

Amazing find!

The other day our adoption agency sent a link to an orgainization called China Care.  It's an organization that works with orphanages across China to bring disabled babies to Beijing for the long-term care they need and can't get in their provinces.  We knew that Mason had been to Beijing for care, we just weren't sure how that had happened, especially since his province is a very long way from Beijing.  His medical records are in Chinese (of course!) but our guide glanced over them for us and told us we were very lucky that he had gotten care for his legs at the very best Childrens' Hospital in Beijing.  So. . . . we got a link to China Care and right there on the front page was our little baby!!!!  He looks about 6 mos old or so.  Cool or what!!! Now we know how he ended up getting to Beijing and having so much correction on his legs.  This organization is so completely awesome, they are based in the U.S. and have a state-of-the-art residence/medical facility where the babies (all orphans) live and recover for as long as needed while they are cared for and are in close proximity to several hospitals in Beijing.  I dug around the website and found a journal entry in a newsletter written by one of the volunteers that came for the summer.  She was a nursing student from Wisconsin, she transported Mason from Baoji City to Beijing.  She wrote about the train ride and taking care of little Wen.  There was another picture of her with Mason.  There was a form on the website for parents of children who had been in their care to get all their medical records.  We filled it out and are excited to get this further bit of info.  Though it won't be much good if it in Chinese!!   It is nice to have another picture of Mason from that first year and a half.  China Care said one of their main priorities is to make sure these babies feel loved while they are there.  They have volunteers cycling in and out all the time to love and kiss and hug them, and also foster parents and nannies there 24 hours a day.  If I ever have the means this will be the first organization I will support.  Maybe we could even volunteer someday - how cool would that be.  The big kids would love every minute of it.  Anyhoo - so grateful for wonderful people in the world that are just trying make lives better for others, there are so many out there!!!!!  

reunion in Idaho!!

Getting ready to walk along the river at Big Springs

DJ pulling the baby wagon to the fireworks

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The kids and cousins on the hike to Lake Marie (we didn't make it, but there is always next year!!!)

Starting out on the hike - it was truly some lovely scenery, when one wasn't staring at the trail trying not to trip.

Preston trying his hand at some fishing

My two cute girlies

For the last ten days we have been in Idaho visiting relatives.  After a 20-hr drive, with only potty breaks, we arrived.  It took Jim and I at least two days to recover, though the kids were ready to go.  After a few days in IF we spent a week in Island Park in a lodge with my family.  Lots of hiking, boating, and catching up after a year apart was accomplished.  After a week of fun and games the kids were sad to say good-bye to their cousins and Jim and I were even more sad to get back in the van for another marathon of driving purgatory.  To make matters worse, I got carsick (yeah, really carsick), and was totally incapacitated for the whole trip, (sorry honey, it probably wasn't fun listening to your wife in the seat behind you hurling into a plastic bag).  Oh well, we are home, have had a day of rest and are now ready for the next adventure.